While it’s hard to get too excited about the revolution knowing that The Testaments is happening, that doesn’t mean we can’t wait to see some sort of change. The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 8 brings that change, as June and Moira make it to the other Handmaids to rally them to fight.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 8.
We get the wedding of the year, which means Handmaids are in attendance. This is where things could go wrong for June. After all, Serena Joy knows who June is, despite many others in Gilead not really remembering her face.
It’s not Serena Joy who becomes the threat, though. It’s Aunt Lydia, who decides not to do as she is told. I still can’t wrap my head around what Lydia is doing, especially based on what I know about The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, but I’m definitely along for this ride.
Serena learns that June was right all along in The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 8
For Serena, it’s all about her wedding. She is ready for her big day, and she’s excited to be able to lead Gilead into a new age. However, we all know that she should have listened to June.
Things look perfect during the wedding. Everyone is there to see Serena and Commander Wharton say “I do,” and that’s where June and Moira are able to pass the knives they’ve smuggled into each of the Handmaids. I will say that this plan is well thought-out, and it’s clear that Aunt Phoebe had to help with planning this. Love that she’s in on May Day. There is a point when a knife is dropped and it looks like they could be caught, but there’s no way a guard was going to stop the wedding on one sound. I didn’t feel that tension at all.
The real tension comes at the wedding feast. Serena comes to speak to the Handmaids, sharing that she wants to make amends. She continues the belief that June should just accept her apology and forgive her, and all the while, June is right there. She’s managed to hang back to make sure Serena can’t see her, but it was a close call. Thankfully, Rita is able to steer Serena to the cake cutting.
After all, the cake needs to be eaten. We quickly learn that Rita put a sleeping powder into the cake during The Handmaid's Tale season 6, episode 7. Within a couple of hours, everyone will be sleeping, and this is when the tables start to turn.
As Serena returns home, Wharton shows his true colors. Commander Bell left him a gift, a Handmaid, despite Serena not wanting to have one in the house. She’s fertile, so why should she have a Handmaid? It’s about time that Serena realized that Gilead isn’t the place she wanted. The men are always going to do what’s right for them; they all believe in the same thing as Fred — Wharton is just very good at masking his deviousness.
I do worry about Noah. Serena is able to leave the house, but we know she ate the cake. That means she’s going to get drowsy and fall asleep somewhere outside, and poor Noah is going to be left alone. It’s snowing, as we see as the Handmaids walk own the street, so the poor thing is going to be exposed to the elements. While June wants Serena to get some sort of karma, she wouldn’t want any harm to come to Noah. Even on the train, she thought about Noah rather than Serena.
June’s plan seems to go without a hitch in The Handmaid’s Tale
Surprisingly, everything seems to work out for June and the Handmaids. Aunt Lydia is catching on. She turns up suddenly at the wedding, much to Commander Lawrence’s annoyance. He can’t show why he wants her gone, though, but he does step in to make Lydia doubt that June is there.
It does look like she will thwart the plans. Moira goes to the Red Center with the other unassigned Handmaids, while June heads to Commander Bell’s house. She is getting Janine out there, and we get a moment of absolute pleasure as she stabs Commander Bell in the eye. It’s the opposite one to Janine, but “under His eye” certainly comes to mind. Seeing Janine and June reunite again is everything, because their friendship is one that I would love to see stand the test of time after all of this.
They head back to the Red Center, and they’re there just in time as Lydia has found out that the Handmaids there are planning something, and Aunt Phoebe is in on it. June and Janine — mostly Janine, which is a beautiful touch considering everything Janine has been through — convince Aunt Lydia to let them go. How can she believe that this is what God wanted for her girls?
This has to be the turning point for Aunt Lydia. I can’t see how she can just willingly let her girls be used, abused, and raped, unless there is a much bigger plan in mind.
As we reach the end of The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 8, we see all the other Handmaids in the houses go after their Commanders. It’s time to take down Gilead, but can June and Moira also get to Hannah? Luke isn’t going to be too happy if June comes back without their daughter again. My biggest issue is that I know Gilead can't completely fall by the end of The Handmaid's Tale, so I can't fully root for this rebellion.
The Handmaid’s Tale airs on Tuesdays on Hulu.